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WASHINGTON (AP) - The State Department is putting U.S. embassies on alert and is warning Americans abroad of possible reprisal attacks from al-Qaida and its affiliates around the world after the killing of the group's leader Osama bin Laden by American forces in Pakistan.

In a worldwide travel alert released shortly after President Barack Obama late Sunday announced bin Laden's death in a military operation, the department said there was an "enhanced potential for anti-American violence given recent counterterrorism activity

in Pakistan." It said Americans living or traveling abroad, particularly in areas that have been hit by anti-American violence in the past should limit travel outside their homes and avoid large gatherings.

The alert said U.S. embassy operations would continue "to the extent possible under the constraints of any evolving security situation."